News

The Straight Edge: First round mock draft

With a week to go until the teenaged fanfare hits Montreal like so many Vermont grad parties, it seems like the perfect time to wade into the waters of prognostication and churn out a 2009 NHL mock draft. Naturally, it’s impossible to predict how trades will affect draft positioning (or player selection, for that matter), so here’s how I see things going down in an orderly world.

1. New York Islanders – John Tavares, C, London, OHL. Gives Isles a marquee player, instant offense, maybe even a new rink.

2. Tampa Bay – Victor Hedman, D, Modo, Sweden. Bolts have the offense; need the puck-moving D-man to get it up ice. Oh, and Vic is huge.

10. Edmonton – Zack Kassian, RW, Peterborough, OHL. Oilers want more grit and size; Kassian has both in spades.
11. Nashville – David Rundblad, D, Skelleftea, Sweden. Preds can have a stacked ‘D’ for years to come with Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and the offensively inclined Rundblad.
12. Minnesota – Dmitry Kulikov, D, Drummondville, QMJHL. Wild needs more than Brent Burns to get its offense from the blueline going; Kulikov can do that.

13. Buffalo – Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Leksand, Sweden-2. Aging blueline corps can be stabilized in part by the fast-rising OEL, who tore up Sweden’s second division.
14. Florida – John Moore, D, USA U-18, NTDP. If J-Bo has no future in the Sunshine State, why not bring in J-Mo as the future? Skating and mobility is off the charts.

15. Anaheim – Scott Glennie, C, Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL. Ducks need more offense and Glennie can provide it with tenacity and a good shot.
16. Columbus – Ryan Ellis, D, Windsor, OHL. Sure, the Jackets have Kris Russell, but they also have one of the worst power plays in hockey. Ellis fixes that in a hurry.

Ryan Kennedy is a writer and copy editor for The Hockey News magazine, the co-author of the book Hockey's Young Guns and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Mondays and Wednesdays, his column - The Straight Edge - every Friday, and his features, The Hot List and Prep Watch appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.